Pitti Uomo 97: Stefano Pilati unveils ‘Random Identities’ collection

Florence -Iconic Italian fashion designer Stefano Pilati revealed his first independent venture, called ‘Random Identities’, in Florence on Thursday evening.

Guests of the fashion show entered into a surreal scene: The Stazione Leopolda, one of Florence’s oldest train stations, was bare but for a rectangular collection of lights hanging from the ceiling and casting a glowing red catwalk against the stone floor.

As the lights shifted to white and against a backdrop of long and deep cello chords, the cast walked out in Pilati’s newest work, a collection of ready-to-wear primed for our digitized era.

The iconic designer's contemporary work combines his unique expertise in design, tailoring, and silhouettes, with his label’s menswear-oriented garments, resulting in a bold provocation controlled by monochromatic colour choices and stark detailing; a balance of refined, rigid cuts with everyday wearability.

Random Identities first collection debuts in Florence

Talking of his latest collection, Pilati, who has made a name for himself in the world of fashion with an illustrious career working across top fashion houses including Armani, Prada and Yves Saint Laurent, said: “This ‘power of silence’ is in direct contrast to the disruptive maximalism and its insistence on creating generations of ‘aspiration’ which I find obsolete, inelegant and counterproductive, especially in an era in which other forms of investment in oneself require an inner and outer balance of how we are used to presenting ourselves.”

Pilati continued: “Random Identities is my answer, with a fluid and versatile attitude, to the need of defining oneself without marking oneself - by appreciating this proposal, it can continue to evolve and self-create.

“Time is the current luxury; I do not want to give away mine to respond to institutionalised anxieties. I’d rather stop and evolve it differently.”

Photo credit: Random Identities